Mission and Goals

Mission

WE brings sustainable safe drinking and sanitation solutions to developing communities around the globe. Key activities WE supports are:

Development, implementation and maintenance of sustainable water and sanitation solutions
Awareness and education on water and sanitation related issues
Actions that positively impact the access to these commodities

Vision

WE envisions a world where everyone can have access to safe drinking water and sanitation, and people participate in the creation and maintenance of their own sources of accessible water and sanitation. WE envisions innovative sustainable water solutions being implemented and maintained across our globe.

Our Commitment

WE is a 501(c)3, tax-exempt, non-profit organization focused on resolving the world water crisis; we have an ambitious vision; that vision is our passion. Our commitment is to devote all funds to the fulfillment of this vision.

How WE Works

Our Approach

WE works to implement efficient, cost-effective and sustainable water solutions, developed through research and engineering. Our approach is to partner with NPOs, NGOs and local organizations to leverage knowledge, experience, and manpower in the regions of focus. This, in turn, decreases costs and improves project sustainability.

We make the information on projects available through this website, as well as other media. This enables the tracking of project progress by funders and interested parties, as well as ensures that funds are being used in the best possible way.

Funding

Individual donations are exclusively used to fund field projects, unless otherwise indicated by the donor
Grants and donations from foundations and sponsors are allocated to cover our operational expenses, with any remainder going towards projects
Occasionally, grants and donations will be used for other purposes such as targeted projects or research, when agreed upon with the donor

Meet WE Founders and Our Board of Directors

WE was founded by Alejandro Ramos and Corina Groeger as the means to channel intensive efforts towards solving the water and sanitation crisis.

Corina Groeger

President, CEO, & Director

Corina has a PhD in Organizational Psychology from Western Michigan University. She spent the last 15 years working in the corporate world; leading project teams and implementing large scale process design and redesign efforts. Corina is originally from Venezuela but has been living in the US since 1994; she is involved philanthropically, sponsoring children, supporting organizations, and learning about the political climates in the various regions so as to better make an impact. This has instilled in her a passion for the inequalities that are present throughout the globe, especially regarding the water crises.

Alejandro Ramos

Vice President, COO, & Director

Alejandro is an Industrial and Operations Engineer from the University of Michigan and will be starting graduate studies in Organizational Behavior Management this fall. He was also born in Caracas, Venezuela, but was raised primarily in the U.S. Alejandro is a generalist, with a passion for helping others. As an Industrial/Operations Engineer, he focuses on process improvement, ergonomics, and ensuring that solid logic is the foundation for all projects; Alejandro also understands the importance of Human Behavior in making lasting change, be it process redesign at a manufacturing facility or the provision of clean water to communities in the field.

Patrick Willers

CFO & Director

Patrick is a graduate in Economics from the University of Michigan and a Masters candidate in Public Administration at the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. For the last three years Patrick has been serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Perú, specifically in the Small Business Development program. For his first two years of service he lived in a fertile valley, located in Lunahuaná, for which agriculture is the main source of revenue and water is a crucial resource. During his final year of service he acted as a program coordinator, providing technical and logistical support to Peace Corps volunteers throughout Peru.Patrick is very involved with educating residents about business, teaching classes to college students and working with the community on coordinated development projects.

Ken Ludwig

Director

Ken is a retired professor of entrepreneurship from the University of Michigan and is involved with the University's Center for Entrepreneurship. Since childhood, when he started his own fishing business, Ken has worked on numerous ventures, some of which were non-profits. He also spent five years in Nova Scotia, living off of the land, with his family. Ken has seen everything, done everything, and - most importantly - can tell you about it in ways that force you to think and learn from it.

Partners

Agua Para el Pueblo (APP) is a local NGO based in Honduras with over 20 years of experience implementing sustainable water and sanitation projects. APP works with the poor to implement water and sanitation solutions with a comprehensive approach including research, documentation, evaluation, education/training, implementation, and maintenance. APP works with local water committees to ensure communities are an active part during the different project phases, and to enhance ownership and ongoing solution maintenance.

Water for Good has 10 years of experience completing water projects in the Central African Republic, one of the most rejected countries in the world. Water for Good has drilled over 500 new boreholes and installed hand pumps, rehabilitated over 800 broken hand pumps and is currently providing maintenance for a network of over 600 hand pumps. Their approach goes well beyond project implementation by continuing their engagement with communities over the long-term, providing regular well maintenance visits, training, and initiating agriculture projects to help villages grow to become more self-sufficient.

Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW) is an organization committed to building a more sustainable world for current and future generations. It was founded in 2002 and is currently comprised of 33 chapters including students, university faculty, and professionals across the United States. ESW designs and implements sustainable projects through their student and professional chapters, aimed at solving a multitude of issues, including water and sanitation challenges across developing communities. Additionally, ESW provides training to individuals and organizations on sustainable policies and practices.

Watering Earth and ESW recently partnered to enhance the development of innovative and sustainable technologies aimed at solving water and sanitation challenges, while providing project opportunities to students and researchers and thus introducing some of them to the non-profit work.

Supporters

Watering Earth was awarded a Google Grant for free advertising through Google Adwords This grant promotes Watering Earth’s site when internet users are searching for topics related to water, sanitation and poverty, increasing site visits and attracting potential new donors. Watering Earth thanks Google for their generosity.